The Guardian
by Marcus Dawn
Summary: Ten years after the Sorceress War ends, Balamb Garden readies one of it's largest classes of SeeDs yet - One of the students however, will become more trouble for the Garden than he's worth... maybe even for his instructor as well.
1. Prelude: Without Looking Back

**The Guardian**

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan-Fiction

by Marcus Dawn

DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy VIII, and all aspects of it (characters, locations and other references) belong to Square. Newly introduced characters are original concepts by the author.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first fan-fiction story posted here... I'll try to keep updates moving, and expect to see more appearances as the story progresses. =)

* * *

**Prelude – Without Looking Back**

Location: Balamb Garden – Training Center

_C'mon... you can do this... just watch for it's vines, and you'll be okay_.

The signature blue and silver Garden uniform belonging to the sole trainee in the facility had seen many better days – slashes in the fabric and minor blood stains of a rookie soldier stood out like badges on a war hero... despite the war of most recent memory being more than ten years ago. No, this suit was made far after the return and defeat of the Sorceress. The jacket cover was unzipped, showing a dampened white undershirt, and a diagonal belt slung around the shoulder like a bandoleer. The student wearing these garments was doubled over from exhaustion, leaning on a long, metal quarterstaff. Charcoal hair curtained the boy's face, just long enough to hide his amber eyes, shaven face, and a pained expression.

The boy was sixteen years old... weeks away from the SeeD test when he'd turn age seventeen. His fellow students consistently mocked him. Overeager, they would say. Unrefined. Undisciplined. He kept his distance from them and focused completely on his studies – a real bookworm. He had aced every written exam tossed his way, despite his instructor pushing extra paperwork at him in attempts to slow him down. He was moving too fast... he was impatient. The problem with a bright and eager student is that once they leave the desk and enter a combat scenario, it becomes a whole new course of study – one that applies the use of misdirection and deceit, plan execution and teamwork. This boy had the first two...

A loud series of clicking echoed from his opponent – a Grat that he had cornered. Though wounded, it still had plenty of fight left. The student made full use of his opponent's weaknesses in finding means to inflict fire and cold upon it – but he lacked what most students had... at Garden, a student would have means to draw magic from his opponent, much like the Grat. This, however, required the passive assistance of an entity as a Guardian Force, or "GF" as the students referred to them. A lot of them were lesser GFs, that only allowed use of the passive abilities, but some, much like Shiva and Ifrit, could be called upon in times of trouble, giving the student a huge tactical advantage. The student in the training facility was making do without one... limiting him to lure his enemy to him and trapping his foe unexpectedly.

Despite the preparation, the student was losing, and he knew it. The creature looked as if it were about to attack, flailing it's large spiked leaves toward him. He gathered his strength and lunged his quarterstaff at the Grat. He felt resistance... and then a puncture of his weapon into the leafy flesh of the monster, only to hear a tyrannical roar... far different to the clicking of the venus-flytrap monster he had attacked... He felt a sensation of being shoved forward, up and over the slain plant, and the world around him went black seconds after.

* * *

"Yes, Ryan Wolfe. We found him in the Training Center this time. You better come and get him – he's waking up now."

Ryan's eyes opened and saw a veil of gray-green – textured walls. He could smell a fresh ocean breeze behind the vertical blinds behind him, but also could catch a hint of lavender in the room. With sudden intrusion into his blurred new world, a bright yellow light blinded his eyes, one at a time. He blinked and groaned unpleasantly, reaching to cover his eyes from further illumination. An all too familiar voice scolded him.

"It hasn't been three days, and you're in my office again," Doctor Kadowaki frowned, looking to Ryan with some discomfort – mostly out of worry he was in further pain. "Come in again and I might have to recommend detention... if _he_ isn't watching you, I am, and with field exams coming up, I can't be treating you on a day to day basis."

The lecture was a pleasant awakening to hear. "I swear, it's not my fault this time, Doc... I was training, and I heard... I heard a..." the distinct of the bestial roar and the force that had hit him from behind lingered in memory, but stayed in thought.

Doctor Kadowaki bent over and waved her pointer finger, "You shouldn't be 'training' this year – your exam isn't until _next_ year, remember that?"

His birthday fell on the exact day of exams... and though this wasn't an unusual circumstance, it was the first it had happened to the unique case of a stellar student like Ryan – most sixteen-year-olds would voice a request to stay in Garden longer as a student: needed the extra time to catch up on studies, keep their social life thriving... delaying the inevitable but desired enlistment of their SeeD status and the dangerous job that came with it.

"I've got things to do, but to make sure you don't run straight back to that cursed training center again, I'm having your instructor take you directly to your dorm room."

Ryan froze on the spot. His mouth inched open slowly, seconds after Doctor Kadowaki turned from him to tend to another "reckless" student. Before words could form and a plea be heard escaping his lips, the sliding doors to the infirmary hissed open and loud, thunderous footsteps echoed on the tiled floor. Ryan's gaze shot to his right, trying to avoid that of the new arrival. He winced, praying that the only scolding he was getting today would be the good doctor's... his instructor tended to be somewhat of a loose cannon, despite his sincerity and rambunctiousness to the students under him... though sometimes, the two traits went hand in hand. With a bellow that made Dr. Kadowaki jump, the instructor started in on his student.

"THE HELL?" The instructor, wearing blue cargo shorts and a personalized black-blue-red jacket over black undershirt, stood with a clenched gloved fist at his side, "What was in your _mind_ to go running off to the Training Center without supervision, or at least a peer to watch your back! You could have had it much worse!"

Dr. Kadowaki breathed, and turned to calm the raging instructor, "Calm, Instructor Dincht, your student has already heard an earful from me... I think he's gotten the point."

"But..." Zell turned to the doctor, maintaining a stressed, but much more controlled manner, "...he had been _told_ not to go alone _several_ times in my class..." Zell shot a glare at Ryan momentarily, who gulped nervously at the blonde man, "Thanks for the help, but as he's found his way here..._again_... I don't think he's gotten the point yet..."

"Well then, Instructor, I hope you can convince him sooner, rather than later. For both of your sakes..." Though the weight of the comment fell heavily on the instructor, Kadowaki's attention had gone to Ryan as well. It was Zell who moved first, who seemed to snap to attention as if addressing a headmaster.

"Thank you, Doctor." Zell's voice echoed, thinking on those last words of the doctor's before waving Ryan from his bed.

The two left Kadowaki alone with her next patient, taking a moment's reflection. Instructor Dincht had the least amount of students in Garden to care for... and as discouraged as they are not to have favorites, Zell thought of Ryan as such... She thought about it a moment longer, before shaking her head with a chuckle. "It's his way of keeping him in his memory, I suppose."

* * *

"What was that, back there?"

Zell stopped and put a gloved hand to his forehead as the two stopped outside the dormitories in a small courtyard. Ryan looked up at his instructor, confused, "What did she mean, '_For both of your sakes_'?"

There was only a few passerby teenagers, none of which were Instructor Dincht's students. He leaned against a metal railing that was keeping form of one of the many outdoor hallways located on Garden grounds. He looked at Ryan intently, keeping his voice low, in case someone were listening in, "How much do you know about the instructors in Garden?"

Ryan shrugged, brushing the bangs from out of his eyes. "There are currently five active instructors here at Garden – myself, Instructors Tilmitt and Heartilly, as well as Instructor Kramer and Instructor Aki." Both Zell and Ryan shivered at Aki's name as the fighter continued, "Each year, at exam time, the instructors are graded according to the success and maturity of their SeeD candidates, as well as the amount of acceptable applicants.

"If an instructor's teachings are... sub-par... they're replaced with more well-suited instructors that are stricter, tougher, and harder." Zell closed his eyes as Ryan digested the information.

Zell's enthusiasm in the past earned him a stigma of being a wild, fearsome man, but his dedication to his friends earned him a place in life later, after the rise and fall of the Sorceress. He ended up in the position he thought least likely for him – teaching other students to settle down and take this training seriously... helping students that were just like him. Following Zell's brand, as an instructor he would get all the 'problem' students, not as punishment, but because he could handle them. His issues with Ryan on the other hand...

"You've got the second largest student fan-base in the school, second only to Instructor Tilmitt... You have droves of students willing to go on Cafe-Runs, you have that little clique of students, those T-Board riders? They worship the ground you _walk_ on. Or in their case, _hover_..." Ryan smiled, as his attempt to reason was causing Zell no end to embarrassment, "Plus, Headmaster Trepe favors you... so... I don't see what's the big deal."

His instructor's head shook, "Quistis had to pull some strings just to _get _me the job... and I owe it to you and the rest of the class for sticking with me... but the decision to sack me isn't the Headmaster's alone... but that's for me to worry about."

"But-"

"I want none of it," Zell stood, his voice rising, "Ryan, it's incidents like the one you got in today that's swaying those people who _have_ that decision over me. And it's not just me they have control over... the staff gets together to vote on each candidate on whether or not they passed or failed their SeeD exams... you can _finish_ it, but that doesn't mean you get to pass..." It didn't take long for Zell to think of Seifer Almasy, from his own class. After a pause, he knelt down to stare at Ryan eye to eye, whom was attempting to avert his eyes ever so slightly, "How can my say over your right to be a SeeD mean anything if you never listen to me?"

Ryan's head was in his shoulders up until the last bit, when his posture suddenly perked up, "My right to be a SeeD? You think I'm SeeD material?"

Zell smiled and planted his fist and hand together, "Without a doubt."

Ryan experienced a moment of awe and inspiring confidence – his instructor hadn't shown any sign of him going places – he assigned him more work, lectured, and tried to force him out of trouble... but never complimented him – not like this. Ryan's smile widened and his eyes lit up, "Does that mean I'm taking the exam in two weeks?"

The instructor tilted his head as if he never considered the thought, and put a hand to his chin, "After a stunt like today..."

The worst words he could have said to start off the sentence – Ryan's composure sank in depression, but Zell feigned the sternness only a moment longer, "...I would argue that you could take a field exam before the big test."

Ryan was left speechless, but fully attentive, completely astonished at what he had just heard – it was like a dream... "I'm gonna catch hell from Quistis about this... but of the few strings I have left to pull... be ready to leave for your field exam soon." Zell gave his student an energetic thumbs up. Ryan nodded, receiving a pat on the back as his instructor moved the the main building in Garden, to get to his classroom. Ryan stood frozen on the spot for several seconds, before letting out a loud shout of excitement. All his bookwork and his training was finally going to be put to the test... a _real_ test.


	2. Chapter 1: Red Tape

**The Guardian**

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan-Fiction Series

by Marcus Dawn

DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy VIII, and all aspects of it (characters, locations and other references) belong to Square. Newly introduced characters are original concepts by the author.

A/N - The Prelude wasn't as long as I had hoped... but hopefully what's coming will make up for it! [edit:] Some parts I re-read over and had to fix them... love how things make sense in your head one day, but not the next - should sound a bit more like english now. (...Hopefully.) ^^;

* * *

**Chapter One – Red Tape**

Location: Balamb Garden, Third Floor

The elevator to the Bridge seemed less in-the-way with the Headmaster's desk moved back several feet. There were a few chairs in front of the desk, one facing the wall and moved off to the side slightly. The desk was littered with trinkets – three framed pictures, all of different sizes, as well as a tall stack of paperwork on the top-right corner. There was a lot of colored baskets on the desk, each with signs, like "In" and "Out" as well as one for the fan mail the Trepies would send. A few pencils were arranged perfectly on the right side of the desk, neat and out of the way, with a calendar place mat out in the center. A date was circled – August 21st, with "Winhill" written in capital letters. Two days later was the name of the SeeD Commander.

The Headmaster was sitting behind her desk, looking scathingly at two men dressed in robes: red robes and white sleeves with eerie yellow masks guarding their face. Headmaster Trepe looked at the two men with incredible unrest, which became panic as the elevator opened from the far end of the room, and Zell stepped briskly from the chamber.

_Oh no... Not now, any time but now!_

"You said that this would be kept in Private!" One of the robed men roared in outrage, demanding an explanation. Zell looked up, about to turn on his heel and run out the door, completely forgetting that his friend didn't have the "come-and-see-me-anytime" schedule she had before as an instructor. His eyes drifted past Quistis, who had swiftly risen to her feet, but caught the garments of the visiting men, and without hesitation found himself with his right arm tucked at his side and his left out in front, with his stance grounded squarely.

Quistis shouted in alarm, "Zell! Stop!" Her voice threw off his attack, making him trip over the rug and stagger, barely managing to control his balance and stay upright.

Zell's eyes wandered up to the desk as Quistis, though still in a state of fright, sat back down, "You two have my word that at least _for the time being_, you are permitted on school grounds to attend to your previous duties. But remember what I said!"

The Faculty turned, as if looking at each other. One turned to face Zell, who was now standing straight, and not in the least, happy with what he had just heard. "What about him?" the Faculty asked.

Quistis nodded, trying to display a sense of confidence, "He is an instructor here at Garden. He can be trusted."

It was all the two robed men needed to hear, and quickly bid their exit without so much as a pause or goodbye – they brushed their way past Zell, who took the time to throw a few punches while shadowboxing in hopes to scare them (which worked, much to the displeasure of the Headmaster... despite her holding in a tiny chuckle). Quistis finally sighed once the elevator door shut and leaned into her chair letting her exhaustion known audibly, "Ooohhh, I don't know how Cid could have lived like this all those years..."

Zell turned and approached the desk, his eyes fixated upon Quistis. She was wearing her SeeD uniform rather than her normal pinkish attire – her silver rimmed glasses were on the desk however, and her hands were currently covering her face. She let out a stressed groan of discomfort, letting herself fall limp at last, her bright blue eyes gazing at the desk above her, and what sky could be seen beyond that.

"The hell was that all about?" Zell pointed with his thumb toward the elevator.

Quistis composed herself and brought her glasses to her eyes, looking down at some paperwork dropped at her desk that weren't apparently in place correctly, "A _delicate_ matter with the Shumi Tribe I'd rather not make a mess of... After all this time, they're making it their interest to invent their time and energy into whatever it is we're doing..."

"And you're just gonna let them waltz back in? After what happened ten years ago?" Zell folded his arms and crossed his legs – he was irritated after seeing the non-faces of the Faculty again. He was referring from the last encounter they'd had with the Shumi's representatives, when they threatened a hostile takeover of Garden.

Quistis shook her head, her glasses now loose on her nose and falling ever so slightly down the bridge of it, so her gaze would peer up over them at Zell, "I don't want any hostile relations lingering in Garden – we may be training SeeDs for missions, but they are missions for peace, not war," She made full use of her gaze to pierce Zell's, "That goes for you too – you're to put what happened in the past exactly where it should be – in the past. And keep it there."

"Yeah, but I don't see what the big deal-"

"ZELL!" Quistis snapped, making the fighter reel back in surprise. She was now glaring very angrily at him, but as she looked at his frightened face, she squinted and frowned. She sank back into her chair and waved a hand in front of her, "Sorry... just, act civil, okay?"

Of all the emotions of Quistis to see, this was one Zell never wanted to. The Headmaster breathed with a slight quiver in her voice, hiding her eyes from her friend. She removed her glasses for a moment to wipe something from her eyes and with a sniff, looked to her friend in feigned composure and addressed him professionally, "and... what can I do for you today, instructor?"

_Don't give me that shit, Quisty..._

Zell frowned, "Well, after that whole mess, First thing is'f you're alright?" He pulled a chair up close to him and sat in it with the back of the chair resting on his stomach, arms folded on top. "C'mon, you can tell ol' Zell what's up! I swear, I won't say a word!"

Quistis chuckled, almost forgetting she had been crying and gave him a raised eyebrow accompanied with a grin – the kind of look that said, "I know you better than that." Zell rolled his eyes and swore, "Alright, I promise not a word, for at least twelve hours." That sent Quistis over the edge in laughter.

"Zell, you'd sell us all out if the reward was the recipe to those damned hot dogs you love so much."

The fact that the statement had rendered Zell speechless was priceless to Quistis: He had instantly went to go defend that he would never betray his friends, but froze at the mere mention of hot dogs, choking on his words. He shook his head and let out a frustrated grunt. After the laughter subsided, Quistis was left smiling in her former glowing radiance, looking like she hadn't a care in the world.

"So, you'll be okay?" Zell asked.

Quistis nodded, "I'll live... thank you, Zell."

The boxer sat up straight and pointed at his inflated chest with his thumb, "Hey, it's why I'm here!" His smile threatened to crawl off his face if it got much wider. He then remembered why he was truly there in the first place and sank back into his seat, "Actually, there was something I wanted to talk about with you, Quisty... it's about the Field Exams."

Quistis took a deep breath, "Ahhh, yes. I was hoping you'd bring this up – Selphie and Rinoa already turned in the forms for student applicants... Matron is taking some extra time with her students, which is understandable." She smiled at her memories of Edea – the good ones, of course, "She acts so caring toward all her students, I almost think it's unhealthy... if one of them got even a scrape, she'd feel responsible.

"So... that leave Instructor Aki, and you." Quistis narrowed her eyes at her friend, "And Aki's already sent me word over the network that his students had been slacking enough as it is with their previous assignments... I figured with you-"

"Ryan Wolfe wants in this year." Zell cringed as his interruption boiled Quistis's long and playful rant of him down to the main point... to which she was left wordless and slowly sank into her chair.

Quistis took a moment, staring at Zell quizzically. Once she determined that he was serious, she breathed and brought Ryan's file on her work station. She sighed, "Students apply at Garden to become a SeeD from ages fifteen to nineteen, you know that... Once twenty, they can no longer attempt the test, but... even sixteen can be too young for some people."

Zell shrugged, "You were fifteen when you became a SeeD."

Quistis closed her eyes and sighed irritably, "I know, but that doesn't mean everyone should. You've already got more than enough students that are going for SeeD Ranks this year... Embry, Jacob, Morris..."

"This isn't about them – he knows he can do it... and he doesn't want to wait around a whole 'nother year just to prove himself." Zell thought of himself a moment as he argued – he knew the feeling... not exactly, but the desire to prove he could be a SeeD was certainly up there back when he was seventeen.

"The answer is no – I won't allow it."

"Quisty – I know he can do it!" Zell was now standing, confidently.

Quistis winced, still disapproving, "He doesn't have para-magic or even a GF..."

"I've already promised we'd be out doing this!" Zell complained, and upon Quistis's sudden and furious expression, clasped his hands over his mouth in shock, before muttering, "Ooooh, Shit."

"You... did... WHAT?"

Zell slumped forward and groaned angrily at himself. Still frowning, Quistis refrained from standing up but folded her arms, squeezing them crossed in hopes to direct her anger elsewhere. She frowned and cursed herself for even considering this...

"I won't allow him to participate in any SeeD mission as a test until he has a GF." She spoke slowly and as Zell looked up at her quizzically, as she could have just said no, she stressed again the final words, "_Until... he has... a GF._ Do I make myself clear?"

"You mean... If we got him one?" Zell pointed at himself as Quistis's vision narrowed in on him, "If _I_ got him one?"

"Isn't it the duty of the instructor to assign the supporting SeeD to their own student's Field examination?" Quistis quipped, maintaining her stern authority but with a sparkle in her eyes. Zell stood a moment, processing this before he pumped his fists in success. Quistis smiled and continued, "There isn't many Guardian Forces nearby in Balamb though, so you'll have to travel... The mission is within a week – you need to get the GF, come back, and file the paperwork twenty-four hours prior, understood?"

Zell hastily nodded, already heading out the door, "You won't regret this, Quisty! I promise!"

By the time Quistis remembered to ask Zell for the forms for all his _other_ students like she was going to, he was already in the elevator and blissfully ignorant of any other news.

* * *

"Hey! Wolfe! Heard you got served the other day at the Training Center!"

Leave it to rumors and gossip to embarrass the hell out of him during lunch. A group of students close-by his table began laughing about the ordeal that went on with him yesterday at the Training Center, where he had almost lost to a Grat. The part about being stampeded over by a resident T-Rexaur was conveniently left out. The only thing left attacking him now was a cascade of wadded up straw papers being tossed at his face. He cringed – one of the boys there had a hearty, noticeable laugh... even with all the noise at the Garden Cafe.

It was then all laughter stopped in the cafeteria and the commotion died down immediately, when three adults walked into the cafeteria eying the event. The one in front brushed back his silver-gray trench-coat, revealing a sheathed, long gunblade at his side (shown strictly by accident and in no way meant to intimidate anybody) and went in stride over to the table next to Ryan.

The blond folded his arms and glared strictly down at the three students, who couldn't help but sink in their seats. When his voice rang out, the entire cafeteria shivered.

"RAIJIN!" The blond called from over his shoulder.

The accompaniment on the right cringed a bit – a man with a purple jacket, prayer beads around his neck and a deep tan skin tone – he brushed his buzz-cut black hair and whimpered, "Geez... I'm right here, ya know?"

The man in gray pointed to the students and barked, "Your names, cadets."

They all spoke their names, to which the man repeated, "Add Lee, White, and Taylor to the list... for littering in our school cafeteria."

"All added to the list, Seifer, ya know?"

The students had begun to interject when Seifer's name was suddenly mentioned, and the man knelt between them all and smiled. The students looked wearily at him as the sinister looking man whispered with a calm voice feigning sympathy, "I know it's a bit hard to distinguish him from a waste basket... so a little time after school might help you three understand the difference."

His sentence ended with a period, and no one dared to speak out against him. A few seconds after he stood straight, the cafeteria resumed it's chattiness once again, leaving the three members of the Disciplinary Committee looking at each other to decide what to do next. Fujin's eye trailed to the student and the mess (now cleaned thanks to the tending of a nearby Cafeteria Staff and Ryan, who felt guilty watching her do the task alone) and Seifer gave a sly smile. The three sat down with the student, who was praying that despite all odds, he could eat a magic carrot or something that would turn him invisible.

"Hey kid." Seifer pulled up a chair and rested his legs up on the table, reclining back on two legs. Fujin and Raijin felt inclined to stand next to him and not sit down, leaving Ryan with some space to himself. Seifer paused and frowned at Ryan a moment before calling again, "Hey KID."

Ryan blinked and looked behind him for a second before answering, "Yes, Seifer?"

Seifer raised both eyebrows in surprise at the response – it took him a while, but the tone he spoke in was not one of fear, but of familiarity... He smiled and let his chair fall to all for legs, his own two hitting the ground as well. He pointed to something below Ryan when the student noticed his meal – a burger smothered in barbeque sauce and a bag of chips with a tall glass of milk. He looked up quizzically at Seifer.

"You haven't touched it... you eating any?" Seifer asked, tilting his head.

Ryan shrugged and pushed the tray to Seifer, "Be my guest."

Fujin blinked, her posture straightening in surprise, not seeing her leader's now wide grin. She attempted to see through Ryan as if he was plotting some sort of trick, "BRIBE?"

Ryan shook his head, "Not hungry. It'd be a shame if it went to waste, right?"

Seifer's grin became a teeth-showing smile, "I like you, kid."

The student simply shrugged, but was thankful that of all sides of Seifer to be on, it wasn't the one in charge of his 'list'. Raijin looked at the burger hungrily, and his stomach let out a loud growl, "Maaan... that's just too good to pass up, ya know?"

Fujin frowned and turned to her comrade, giving him a swift kick to the back of his leg, "SEIFER'S." Raijin buckled backwards in pain.

Seifer reached out and took a large bite out of the burger, "What'd you say your name was, kid?" His words half inaudible for talking with his mouth open.

"I didn't." Ryan blinked, maintaining a straight face.

Seifer laughed, and tapped Raijin (who was still recovering from Fujin's vicious kick) on the abs, pointing to the student afterward before swallowing the burger contents in his mouth. Flakes of lettuce and sauce flew from the burger onto the tray Ryan had presented him, but Seifer's eyes were on the student himself, "The kid's got guts..."

Seifer waved his comrades closer, addressing Ryan as a whole as the committee, feeling that an introduction would get a name out of him, but the voices of Seifer and his company as well as those of the Cafe went into slurred whispers... Ryan blinked and stared dreamlike at Seifer, who was in mid-speech when he noticed the glazing of Ryan's eyes.

_Their damage will not go... unpunished..._

The new whisper sounded almost like a hissing... close to a soft shriek. An impact on his arm jolted him awake.

"Kid!" Seifer ordered, "Pay attention, I was just about to get to the best part!"

"INTRODUCTION." Fujin nodded. Ryan blinked, unknowingly, his gaze following up to the blue-clad woman. Seifer was now standing, and about to speak when Ryan caught a glimpse of someone jogging toward the group from behind.

"Seifer!" Zell shouted, "You're not harassing my student, are you?"

Seifer's speech again fell short and he staggered,, many of the watching cafeteria junior underclassmen chuckling. The gunblade specialist's eyes widened in humiliation and he pointed to the students, "FUJIN! RAIJIN! Get their names!"

The two other members of the Disciplinary Committee agreed, ("Still right next to ya, Seifer, ya know?" whimpered Raijin...) and the leader turned to the martial artist, acting like nothing ever happened and continued alongside his ego, "Well well, if it isn't the Chicken-wuss! This is _your_ student?"

Zell scowled at Seifer, cracking his knuckles through his Ehrgeiz. Seifer sighed with a smile and looked back to Ryan, "A shame... and I was beginning to like ya, kid." Ryan shared a rare smile with Seifer, which made the moment perfect for the committee leader. It certainly made dealing with Zell much more entertaining, "You have an interesting student there, Dincht. Don't screw up with him, get me?"

The fighter backed off, still considerably upset that his old nickname got brought up after all this time... and although that's what he'd expect from someone like Seifer, he didn't anticipate what he said about Ryan. Seifer chuckled and looked down at his burger – he had only taken the one bite out of it... He looked up at Zell and placed the burger in his hand with a bit of force, smearing some barbeque sauce over his gloves. "Fujin! Raijin! We're outta here, let's go!"

"FOLLOWING." Fujin acknowledged, to which Raijin quickly complied as well. Zell, disgusted, looked at the burger and looked up at Seifer. He was staring back, smiling eagerly to see what he would do. With great restraint not to chuck the thing at the ex-knight's face, he opened a trash bin lid and dropped the contents in, giving Seifer the most strained and false grin that he could give. Seifer let out a single loud laugh before continuing on.

Zell looked at his gloves and swore repeatedly to himself, "Errgh... frickin' hell. All over my damned..." Amidst trying to remove the barbeque sauce from his weapons, he looked up and saw his student, apologetically looking toward him. The instructor waved and walked over.

"I am _sooooo _sorry about that... I wasn't hungry, he asked, and I-"

"Seifer and I go way back," Zell calmed his student down, "No need, I never liked him to begin with anyway." Ryan chuckled and smiled uneasily, not sure if the situation called for it. Zell returned the gesture with a smile of his own, now focused on the big news, "So listen... As promised, I talked with Headmaster Trepe today..."

"Oh yeah?" Ryan's smile expanded eagerly, "How'd it go?"

"We're getting you a GF to use on the mission – can't go without one... but you're in!"

Ryan's smile faded instantly. Zell's lingered for a moment longer before his faded away and became concern. It was like Ryan to be all 'broody and moody', as Selphie spoke of him, but this look of his took the cake. All life in his flashing golden amber eyes were lost.

"What is it? I said you were in...! That's good news, right?" Zell questioned, confused as all hell why the student wasn't jumping out of his seat in excitement right about now. _I swear, if this kid backs out..._

"The GF is required?" Ryan had a small shadow looming over his eyes.

Zell was taken aback, "Of course... Without a GF to junction to, you can't use magic, your ability to use your equipment goes handicapped, your-" He stopped, as the realization for the need to junction a GF hurt Ryan just as much as a gut punch would... "Why...?"

By now, the majority of the students in the cafeteria were packing up or leaving, running late for next period. Zell was an easy instructor and felt a few minutes left unsupervised would be a bummer for his students, but... for someone who desperately wanted to succeed in life this way – GFs were next to necessity in their line of work, so... why did he not want to use them?

"I... I don't want to talk about it right now, instructor..." Ryan looked away, hoping that this would avoid the subject. He knew it wouldn't.

_Damn, Ryan, if you'd just tell me, I could make this a helluva lot easier._ "Alright, fine... but the matter still is, you need a GF. You don't have to summon him, you just need to have one... otherwise there's nothing Quistis and I can do for you." Zell folded his arms and left the choice up to him.


	3. Chapter 2: Dreaming

**The Guardian**

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan-Fiction Series

by Marcus Dawn

DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy VIII, and all aspects of it (characters, locations and other references) belong to Square. Newly introduced characters are original concepts by the author. None of the new characters are self-inserts or actual people. 100% fiction here. =)

**

* * *

Chapter Two – Dreaming**

Location: Balamb Garden, Dormitories

Ryan couldn't sleep. He hadn't a wink of sleep since the day his instructor told him he was taking part in the exam at the end of the week – Friday the 21st... only three days away. He was supposed to leave with Zell this afternoon, after his study hall... but having not rested, and wearing himself out from the excitement... he didn't think he could stay awake past homeroom.

_I didn't come all... this way... just to sleep on the final day...!_

Annoyingly, it was at that precise moment his alarm started buzzing. He allowed himself only a half-hour to shower, dress, eat, and make it to homeroom. He weaseled through his tossed blankets and swung for the alarm. His arm went further than he intended – with him following suit, forgetting where the edge of the bed was. Landing face first on his bedroom floor, the cushioning blankets easing his fall, he grumbled a few swear words and shut his eyes once again. A second's struggle later shuts off the alarm clock, but what enthusiasm kept him awake in the night now was set on getting him to rest...

_I can make it to class in fifteen minutes, right? If I just skip breakfast..._

There was a lot of napping to do in the remaining twelve minutes he had allotted himself. He shut his eyes and began thinking to himself... himself as a SeeD... peers looking up to him...

...Getting used to having a GF junctioned...

"Hey, Ryan – you okay? Sounds like you fell out of bed!"

_Yeah, there's that too..._ to which he began thinking of the students from yesterdays lunch, teasing him, humiliating him. A second later and he had realized that the voice of concern wasn't imaginary... Someone had actually heard him!

"I'm okay," Ryan sounded through the bed sheets he dragged down with him, "Just a little tired... I'll be up in a sec, Aaron."

Aaron Erickson was his dorm-mate, who lived to the room on his right – he was in the center bedroom, the one on his left, a double, went unoccupied – quite possibly one of the three rooms on campus that were empty, ironically not kept for students, but made for guests visiting Garden who don't have special quarters assigned to them. Ryan's roommate was two inches taller than him, wore shoddy-looking large bronze glasses and shaggy brown hair. He was a natural when it came to Para-magic, but other than that, pretty much your average geek... all things considered, still a nice guy, just... a bit much, sometimes.

"You know," Aaron replied through the door, "You're going to be late for Instructor Dincht's homeroom if you wait any longer... unless you're hurt, you're not hurt, are you? I could get Doctor Kadowaki if you broke..."

Aaron's voice trailed off, much to the pleasure of the student, yet a subtle whispering took his place. Ryan thought of yesterday's encounter with Seifer for a moment – right before Zell had told him the initial news... but... everything was playing backward. The whisperings drew silent, and his mind wandered as he drifted into a soft sleep, where the whispers kept intruding voices at bay.

Aaron, after determining his roommate was hurt, decided it would be best to see the Doctor about it. Ryan, at that point, couldn't care less – he was finally asleep.

* * *

"Hey, you!"

Zell stumbled as the young sorceress called out to him across the hallway. She wore her casual attire – the duster sweater and matching arm warmers, over a black denim short-sleeve and shorts. Something about her was off though, in her appearance, and Zell took a scrutinizing second to look her over. She silently stood by, a little wierded out by the once-energetic fighter to be standing not only in place, but _still._ She tilted her head curiously, waiting a while longer, but it was obvious that Zell was still looking for something.

_Her hair.. no, still like before... same caramel stripes. She didn't cut it... no, something's lighter about her. Something's... missing._ Zell folded his arms and growled to himself, irritated that contrary to his belief, he couldn't find anything.

Rinoa finally couldn't stand it – Zell was being just a bit too weird. "Whoo-hoooo, Balamb Garden to Zell~" She rang out in a sing-song voice. Zell blinked as the hand passed his eyes, but his vision followed it. He then saw his something that wasn't there... and snapped his fingers, jolting awake.

"Your ribbon – you aren't wearing it!" Zell remarked, pointing to her left arm.

The sorceress was shocked at first, seeing the martial artist spring back to life, but even more surprised at the comment, "Zell... you are like... the _first person_ to notice this all morning!"

Zell put his hands on his hips and laughed, "Who says I don't pay attention to detail!"

Rinoa smiled and looked at her arm, almost proud that it was gone. Zell brushed the tip of his nose with his thumb, "Yeah, I knew something was off – never seen that ribbon off you once, since we first met in Timber..."

The sorceress smirked and eyed him skeptically, "Though I doubt you were watching every day whether or not..." She paused, and feigned shock, "Oh my... did you...?"

Zell blinked, "Tch, hell no! C'mon, Rinoa, you know me better than that!" She let the tease go and chuckled.

"You're right... besides, my husbund 'd kill you, if you had been."

"Speaking of which, how is tall, dark and broody in the morning? He good?"

Rinoa laughed, raising a hand to her face in hopes to disguise it. Squall had married Rinoa roughly a year and a half later, when things in the world were close enough to world peace as it ever could be. SeeDs were on the back burner as far as necessities went, giving Squall and his company more than enough time to relax. Rinoa had attempted to become a SeeD, but as the need for them decreased, so too did the graduates. She didn't get the pass, but was vouched for by Cid Kramer to be a complimentary SeeD for her services to not only Balamb Garden but to the world and all of time...

Regarding the question of Squall, she sighed rather unhappily, "He's with the previous Estharian president. Something to do about a dig site... but as it's Laguna, he figured he'd go there personally." Her gaze drifted to the floor, "He's been gone for over a week."

Zell scratched the back of his head, "I'm sure he's okay, especially if Laguna's with him. He'll be back soon."

Rinoa nodded, "Oh, I know he'll be back soon... it's Julia that won't understand."

Julia was Rinoa's and Squall's daughter, almost seven years old. When Rinoa wanted to name the girl after her mother, it wasn't Squall, but Laguna who hastily agreed to the name. As for Squall, so long as she was happy with the name, he had no preference... a nicer way of saying his standard reply to most questions and statements.

"I gave her my ribbon this morning, to take the mind off of Squall for a while," Rinoa smiled sweetly, thinking fondly of little Julia, "She loves it."

The bell rang for the start of homeroom, both of the instructors freaking, they waved each other off and ran to their respective classrooms.

* * *

"No fair! Since when did you ever play with 'Random' before!" Someone complained from the back of the room.

Zell's students had taken to Triple Triad when he wasn't around. Not that he'd mind at all... but recently, the students had begun to flock from other classrooms to watch the spectacle. One of Ryan's only acquaintances he'd consider a 'friend' was a master Triple Triad player, named Victor Cole. He was a built man, standing tall at six-foot-three. He was a skilled T-boarder and excellent fighter, but despite being highly competitive, was a very nice guy. The reason he was in Zell's stereotyped 'misfit' class?

Victor grinned widely, looking at his opponent squirm in his seat, "Rules are rules, Jacob... you play'm or you pay'm..."

Victor was a gambling addict... and not a fair sportsman. He did have considerable skill at strategy, in say... combat, or card games... if only he used his talents _outside_ of class and applied them to his studies...

"And with 'Same', if I place my Malboro Card _here_..."

His opponent grabbed his own head in panic, as the move chained everything on the board to Victor's color.

_Cole Victory: 9-1_

The student Victor was facing, the honor student, Chris Jacob, sunk in his seat and brushed the side of his hairline. Victor, whose hair was almost non-existent, let his hands cradle the back of his buzz-cut brown scalp. To say that Cole had a tan would be an understatement... Muscles, smarts (the ability to use them, not entirely present...) and skills. The only reason he was not a SeeD yet was the darn writing exam...

"Good game, Jacob." Victor extended his hand.

Jacob nodded, "Still no dice, on trading for that new card you got, huh?" A question to which Victor shook his head, but making him look to his stack of cards. Siting on the top, his pride and joy: A unique card... The Fenrir GF card; 9-7-2-8, going from top, clockwise. As far as he knew, he was the only student in Balamb to have something as rare as a GF Card. Maybe someone would have a Boss Card, or two... but this.

"Yo, class! Sorry I'm late this morning..." Zell entered the classroom in a bit of a jog, almost tripping himself over the sliding door. A few seconds later, the students were rushing to their seats, and Zell, panting, sat in his. It was weird... sitting at the instructor's desk. He usually never did... He had inherited Quistis's old classroom, and it just... didn't feel right, sitting where Quisty once was... even though she took her old chair for the Headmaster's room.

"Suppose I should get this out of the way first..." Zell sighed, looking through his notes left haphazardly on his desk, "Some of you have already looked, I see... but to make it official and to inform those who _do_ respect my privacy..." A few of the students chuckled – Zell had no privacy... he was open to his students and preferred to be treated like one of them, "The results from the written exam are in. Of the twenty of you, six of you will be required to, and have already requested the acquisition of a GF... Yes, only six of you passed this year."

A lot of the students groaned, some gasping and crossing their fingers. "The six who passed, come see me after Homeroom... I want to discuss some of those GFs you're hunting. Now.. first thing's first. Victor?"

The strong-arm looked from his seat, petting his GF card.

"You've taken this test four times... what gives?" Zell tilted his head.

"Well, instructor... I just love your class _so_ much." He said it with a smile, and although this was sarcasm, a good part of him actually enjoyed Zell's lessons... so in all honesty... it wasn't that much of a diss. The class took it as a funny joke, as well as the instructor himself.

Zell rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "Well, hate to say it, but you're moving on. You finally passed the exam, so I'll need to discuss you getting Fenrir."

The student gasped and leaped out of his seat with an enthusiastic yell. The class all applauded – for him, this was his biggest achievement to date – and finding and obtaining Fenrir? He truly wanted to reach for the stars...

"Let's see..." Zell mumbled, "Dan Embry, you passed, no surprise – You'll be going after... ugh.. Malboro King, you'll need some luck and decent resists, but... you can do it." Applause for Embry, and the list continued, "Allison Fisher? You passed as well – You already have your GF, I remember... Irvine Kinneas wound up being your support... Nice job on Seraph." Zell smiled at his student, who bowed, blushing at Irvine's name. A few of the other girls whistled at her. She brushed back her long blond hair and sat back down in her seat before any other eyes could find her.

"Also, I got Chris Jacob, you'll be after Kjata... Caitlin Morris, you'll be after Typhoon... and Ryan Wolfe, our class's youngest passed his exam... you'll have to see me after class to choose which-"

"Instructor?"

Zell looked up from his seat to Allison, who was raising her hand. The entire class was looking at him – there was no applause on Ryan's name. A bead of sweat trickled down the instructor's face.

"Allison? 'Sup?"

Allison blinked, before looking away, "...Ryan's not here..."

He didn't anticipate _that_ reality... sure enough, Ryan's desk was empty.

_Aww, hell... What's wrong _this_ time?_

Zell shifted in his seat a bit uncomfortably, "Well... if any of you see him, it would be great if you could congratulate him... he's actually, among all the SeeD candidates, the youngest to go this year, not just in our class. Ease the pressure off of him, alright?"

His students nodded and clapped for Ryan, despite his absence. Zell felt a little proud of his students, being such a community for each other. His class was made of a crucible of personalities... but in one room, for sixty minutes a day, they were a family – a team. He couldn't explain a method on how to achieve it... he wrote it off as a happy miracle.

"Now that's done, I want to take the time to talk to you guys abo-"

The sliding doors to his classroom opened, revealing a pack of students with a tiny SeeD woman in front. Curled hair to either side, auburn brown, green eyes...thin frame...

"Hiya, Zell!" She waved to him as she stampeded into his classroom.

Zell came out of his chair in shock as twenty students piled in behind her, "Selphie! The hell're you doin'?" The room was already packed with Zell's sixteen students... The class was half-forced to stand and pair up at desks, some triple-up, just to seat everyone.

Selphie smiled to the students, still waving. She hadn't heard him at all, had she?

"So! As I was saying! Um... Oh yeah! Olivia! Great job! If you need any help with Asura, let me know! Maybe after today's Garden Festival meeting, we can take a quick trip..." Selphie was addressing her class as if Zell and his students were there the whole time... the fighter was trembling, irritably, every few seconds, muttering her name. Eventually, he had to yell to get through to her – her reaction was dumbfounded, but oblivious.

"Selphie... what the _hell_ are you doing in my classroom? Isn't there a nice, _big_ room you want to take your small army?" Zell used his hands to motion for her to shoo, a couple of his students chuckling at him.

"I wish I could, but some ol' robed meanies kicked me out! Can you believe it?" Selphie stamped her foot and pouted. Zell folded his arms and put a hand to his chin...

_Robed meanies? Oh... she must mean those faculty guys I saw the other day with Quistis. I wonder..._

"You weren't there when they left, right? Ten years ago? You were in Galbadia." Zell looked to his class, lowering his voice a bit. He recalled the group back then splitting in two – though he remembered Selphie and Squall leading the two operations, he couldn't recall which he went with... after ten years, a junctioned GF could really strain the memories. Either way, _Selphie_ remembered and nodded.

"There was this big dealie about them having to leave... not sure I quite got the full story." Selphie tilted her head and mimicked Zell's ponderous look. A couple of Selphie's students laughed, causing Zell to quickly change his pose.

"Guess they have a bit of stuff to catch up on, after being gone ten years, right? You can forget a lot of stuff in that time." Selphie smiled.

_Tch... maybe they forgot how badly we kicked their asses for getting out of line. _Zell chuckled at the thought, "Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, Quisty told me to stay out of it... best let it run it's course..."

Selphie threw her hand high in the air, "Alright! Zell and Selphie time! Two SeeDs teaching one super-mega-awesome class! Booyaka!" Zell let out a huge sigh – as did many of his students. Selphie still had that girlish charm she had back then... "So um.. Zell? You tell your students about who was taking the prelims yet?"

Before Zell could even nod, Selphie's statement was accompanied by a flicker of lights, and the entire room jerking to the side, throwing everyone to the ground, all accompanied by a loud explosion.

* * *

The blast brought Ryan to his feet (after the violent shaking of Garden, of course), making him hustle and dress with urgency. Klaxons were sounding in the hallways near his dorm – whatever hit Garden was close to him... with or without rest, if something was going to knock at his door, he needed to be ready to deal with it, friend or foe alike. It took less than a minute to dress and take out his iron pole.

_Please don't be an attack, please don't be an attack..._ Ryan wasn't ready yet... he wasn't a SeeD, just a cadet without a GF. For the first time in his life, he actually wished he had something strong to fall back on.

The door to his dormitory slid open as he approached, revealing a frightening sight – his living room was spotted with flames, a lot of which were migrating toward Aaron's room.

"Aaron!" Ryan reached for a cereal bowl, desperate to try anything to douse the flames in the immediate vicinity. He didn't have much luck, but got close enough to the dormitory door to open it and look inside. To his relief, the room was fine – but by now, the accumulation of smoke was becoming unbearable.

_I need to get out of here... now!_ The thought was only reinforced when something in the flames moved... moving in a way something natural, wouldn't. The center of the fire seemed to swirl like a pool. Something was solidifying in the center.

"These flames aren't for real, are they?" Ryan breathed in exasperation.

The flames condensed, forming a sphere of fire, two glowing eyes fixated on Ryan. The student didn't need any sort of Scan spell to tell what this thing was... he knew straight away. It was a Bomb. The arcana circled around Ryan with sinister intent, cutting off his escape – the hallway to the dormitory courtyard – from the look of things out there, the situation wasn't much better. The Bomb reeled back it's head, and violet glitters circled it's body.

_A spell!_ Ryan quickly dived behind a overturned table, only to have it detonate into flames and break, as the Fire spell missed it's mark. Ryan retreated from cover and in desperation, swung at the balloon with his weapon.

A hit.

The orb of flame bounced off of the hallway walls, and shuddered – it had taken considerable damage with only one swing... A newly formed Bomb wasn't as strong as the ones in the Fire Cavern, outside of Balamb Garden. Ryan thought for a moment, smiling – he might actually have this.

But then, the Bomb expanded, and all pleasant thoughts went out the window.

"Oh, hell..."

A second Fire spell detonated right behind Ryan, cutting off escape to his room. The door shut automatically, and locked itself – had Ryan been in there, he might've been safer. Ryan attempted a second swing, and felt the Bomb's arcane flesh cave in from the strength of his strike... he had hit it with the sweet spot of his weapon, and the monster doubled over and sank a few inches from it's hovering point. It was weak... becoming desperate. It also doubled in size.

Ryan didn't have time for this... young Bombs were known for being unstable, and if this wasn't a coincidence, the explosion, coupled with any other Bombs that had spawned, would shake Garden a second time.

A fireball hit him directly in the chest, and detonated point-blank. His head hit the back of the common room wall, and Ryan fell to a knee. One more lucky blast with one of those spells... He had to leave. He withdrew a hand from his chest, having gripped it after the blast. His hand didn't come away with blood, but his stomach was in severe pain... at least a third degree burn. He wished he wouldn't move at all... He was being pushed to his edge. To his limit.

He finally stood, the Bomb growing a third time. He had to get out... at least make it to Zell. He would know what to do, and what was going on. With mission in mind, he extended his left leg and crouched slightly, extending his staff to point it at the Bomb, keeping his right elbow by his head.

_Sission..._

He thrust his staff to the bomb, knocking it back – stepped forward on his right leg and let the staff limply return to him. As it circled back, he rolled his wrist, letting it come to his side in a second striking position. As he did this, half-way down the staff, the surface flattened as his wrist rolled. A second step with his left foot and the Bomb recovering from the first strike set him up – with one great swing, he drew a line through the arcana, the force of the swing turning Ryan around half-circle. Though the student soon after dropped to his knees, clutching his chest, the Bomb was cut cleanly in half, and it's top half slid slightly off before vanishing in red light. Ryan looked to his staff – octagon shaped, just as it had been before his Limit.

He growled at himself, cursing in pain and limped out of the dormitories – the School was on fire in many different places. At this point, his concern was finding Zell – the one time he was late for class was the day Garden gets doused in fire...

And men in robes... Scattered everywhere.

_Are they the attackers?_ Ryan gripped his staff firmly, as two men in red and white robes confronted him – these guys looked like they meant business... but Ryan knew he was in no condition to fight. He had to escape, somehow.

"You! Student!" One of the faculty cried, "It was you!"

_Flee!_

The whisper truly spoke what was on Ryan's mind. Whoever these guys were, he didn't want to stick around. With a quick turn, in hopes to cut through the courtyard, Ryan steps into a jog, trying to keep his pain to a minimum but remain fast – he couldn't get more than five feet before bumping into someone.

"Tch, you guys again?" the voice boomed, "You're the ones responsible for this, aren't ya?"

It was Zell! He was saved...! The instructor wrapped an arm around his student, protectively, his other raised threateningly, the Ehrgeiz's emblem facing the faculty. The fire behind the two didn't dampen what intimidation the elder SeeD had over the faculty, but none-the-less, the red-and-white continued to press him.

"That student is under arrest, for casting powerful magic on school grounds!" One roared over the flames. Zell threw back his head and laughed.

"This here's MY student. You want him, yer gunna have to get through me!" Zell threw several punches, shadowboxing, "I can tell you right NOW, you got the wrong culprit – this student can't _use _magic! He has no GF!"

The faculty looked at each other and stared at the two. The looked like they were seriously contemplating attempting the apprehension... (at least... what you could tell from their jitters. Not much to tell from a giant golden mask for a face...) they backed away, after a time.

"We'll be speaking with the Headmaster about this!" They cried. Zell brought himself into a battle-ready stance, causing them to flee on the spot.

Not soon after, the large water serpent, Leviathan, hovered over the courtyard, breathing jets of water on the fires to extinguish them. SeeDs were now gathering in the courtyard, dispatching the monsters and rounding up the students. Zell looked to his and growled, "Not in homeroom, finding you would have been a lot easier, if you had been."

Ryan shook his head, "I couldn't sleep..."

Zell looked out into the courtyard, watching the cinders burn away before being finally put out, "Something tells me, after today, neither will I."


	4. Chapter 3: Gone Fishing

**The Guardian**

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan-Fiction Series

by Marcus Dawn

DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy VIII, and all aspects of it (characters, locations and other references) belong to Square. All other parts are ideas by the author – 100% fiction.

* * *

**Chapter Three – Gone Fishing**

Location: Balamb Garden, Hospital Wing

Doctor Kadowaki and Quistis were moving about the hospital wing with incredible haste to try to tend to each incoming student to the hospital wing. They were receiving the junior-classmen and younger cadets at three or four per minute, but signs of things easing up were thankfully evident a few minutes after the initial attack.

Zell and Ryan arrived at the infirmary, the latter clutching his wound from his previous engagement. Doctor Kadowaki was the first to tend him, who paused in shock after identifying the student, and sighed, "...Of course you'd be here. Never mind, never mind... over on the bed, _now._"

The instructor could only watch as a small student medical team tended to his wounds, trying to use Esuna on any of the burns and Cure on the main part of the wound. Quistis looked over at Ryan and put a hand to her mouth, "He's not the first wounded student in here... but none of the others have wounds that look like _that_."

Zell nodded, "It's not simply a burn, that was a direct attack... maybe it was responsible for the commotion outside." he paused, thinking for a moment, and turned to Quistis, obviously very confused. He crossed his legs and folded his arms, peering into his superior's eyes, "Why bring up he wasn't the first wounded? I kinda figured with all the traffic in here..."

The headmaster shook her head, "Most of the students were all right. A good majority in fact... they were just scared, what students weren't upperclassmen, anyway. The older students that arrived were medic-class cadets, hoping to assist our doctors here..." She looked behind her, toward a section of closed-off sections of the room, divided by pale blue curtains, "We did receive three wounded students, just before Ryan Wolfe and yourself entered the wing... I already sent word to their instructors to come down immediately."

On cue, Selphie, Rinoa and Edea rounded the corner, and made their way into the infirmary. Zell loosened up, seeing Matron – no matter the circumstance, her presence made things feel at ease – somehow, safer. It was nice to have that feeling of security at a time like this. He smiled and looked to Quistis, whom was thinking on the same wavelength.

"I heard your message, Headmaster..." She said regally, "You have one of my students in the hospital's care?"

Quistis nodded, and looked to the second sorceress, "The other two are yours, Rinoa... all three are being tended to right now – Zell's student seems to have had it the worst."

"What happened?" Selphie checked her boots. Rinoa brushed past Quistis on her way to the curtained rooms, Edea staying put to be informed. Though she worried for her student too, she took solace that her student was safely in Doctor Kadowaki's care.

"As far as we can tell, a wave of fire beasts, mostly buers and bombs, attacked the school from the residential district. Wherever there had been fire, a creature always seemed to be close by." Quistis strode to the window of the infirmary, looking at the damage to Garden just outside. The grounds were smoldering, but no longer in flames, "There was a GF responsible, the Bomb King, but student David Aeveus successfully neutralized the threat and obtained the GF for himself."

Selphie threw up her hand, "Booyaka! That's one of mine! Go Davie!"

Quistis shook her head, trying not to smile. Rinoa returned from the rooms and shot a glance at Quistis, "You said the underclassmen were running through here? Had any of them been harmed by the creatures?"

"No, I had already said, the only ones injured in the attack were..." The headmaster's sentence was cut short, upon seeing the young sorceress's eyes – they seemed reddened and watery. Selphie put a hand to her mouth and let out a small gasp.

"Was Maggie one of the injured students, Rinoa?" Edea questioned, her voice carrying an unusual stern tone.

She nodded with a loud sniffle, her head and shoulders dropping significantly. Zell scratched his head, "Maggie... Maggie White? What's so important about her?"

All the women now had a sense of dread – Rinoa especially. Quistis swore silently as she suddenly began to realize the situation, "The cadets have been accounted for, but the underclassmen are still being called in. We go alphabetically, looking for the cadets and SeeDs looking over those Underclassmen during an attack, and get the whereabouts of the children from the students directly."

Edea walked over and placed an arm over Rinoa's shoulder, giving Zell a glance - "Maggie White was in charge of watching over three underclassmen. One of which is Julia Leonhart."

_Rinoa's daughter..._ Zell's jaw dropped.

"She's missing?" The martial artist stood stunned.

"Instructor!"

A loud hum of a T-Board echoed through the halls of the Infirmary with loud footsteps coming from behind – Victor Cole's near-shaved tan head and Allison Fisher's long, cape-like blond hair rode into the wing with the Disciplinary Committee chasing after them.

Cole and Fisher stood at attention, giving a SeeD salute to Zell before addressing him. Cole spoke first, T-Board popped up and at his side, "Once roll call was done with for us, we heard you had come here." Allison nodded and added, "We're here to help out, Instructor. Tell us what to do."

As he answered them, Ryan, bandaged in his mid-section, strode out of his curtained room, listening in, "We have missing underclassmen – I need you to go find... uhm... Student.. number..." He looked to Rinoa and swore, "Ah, hell with it. You know Rinoa's little girl, right?"

The two students nodded, "We'll start searching right away."

Victor and Allison were already back on Cole's T-Board again when Seifer, Fujin and Raijin got there. Seifer was furious, and only more so as the two students took off past them, and back into the main foyer of Garden. Raijin was completely out of breath.

"Too... too fast... ya know?" He heaved.

"ANNOYANCE."

Seifer looked to Fujin momentarily before he walked to the group, standing straight to force Zell to look up at him with authority. Zell folded his arms and scoffed, "Bit busy here, Seifer. If you haven't noticed, we have a bit of a crisis on our hands?"

"Hey, if you're willing to let them go unpunished, they're your students, chicken-wuss..." Seifer chuckled to himself, "gunna need a good reason why I shouldn't take their acts outta your hide, though. All the monsters are dead, so none of that."

Selphie glared at the ex-knight, "Rinoa's girl is missing, you big meanie. Quit picking on Zell, his students just wanted to help out!"

Though he enjoyed picking on Zell, hearing the news about Rinoa's kid was enough to keep Seifer in line. He put a hand to his chin and thought out loud, "The lion's cub 'gone missing, huh? If I were her, I'd head to a safe place."

"No fricken kidding, Seifer – anything new you could tell us?" Zell stood irritably.

Ryan, making his presence known, spoke up from behind the crowd, "Garden had landed outside of Balamb for some time... And as the Res-District got attacked, Instructor Leonhart's quarters would have been right in the thick of battle... If she's not here, maybe she went to Balamb?"

_That'd be a helluva walk... but if she's not in Garden, it's the only other safe place I can think of._

"Ryan and I have to head out to Balamb anyway – We can keep a look out," Zell pounded his chest with a fist, "If she's out there, we'll find her."

Rinoa smiled weakly, "Thanks, Zell..."

Zell smiled, although confident, looked to Ryan who was thinking the exact same thing as him – an underclassmen out in the open? _I just hope she stuck to the road..._

_

* * *

_

Balamb – a serene town of fishermen and travelers, and one of the most popular destinations of the transcontinental railroad, being near Balamb Garden – the destination to every aspiring SeeD. The town wasn't full of life, as it had been, leaving Zell and Ryan at the city entrance with shivers – it was like walking into a ghost town.

"The hell is everyone?" Zell wondered out loud.

Ryan rubbed his chest. He was bandaged, but the Cures and Esuna spells got him back on his feet in no time at all... Instead of taking it easy, he was now out in the field. The town was dead silent – except for one sound. He tilted his head, "Instructor, you live here, right?

"Have the waves ever sounded this rough?" The student's question set a foreboding chill up Zell's spine – a feeling he was regrettably getting used to, by now.

"C'mon," the Instructor jogged forward, "Gotta check on Ma."

Though he didn't understand, Ryan followed. They came to the house next door to the Inn, and though Zell had made a dash to his home, Ryan stopped in awe outside. He could see the Balamb coastline, and the small clusters of flat-topped icebergs colliding with it. It even looked to be snowing out at sea.

Zell came back outside, irritated, "Nowhere... it's not like her to leave the house like this."

"Is it like the coastline to be frozen over?" Ryan pointed, still dumbfounded by the weather. He noticed it still felt rather balmy up near the hotel. With his instructor's full attention on the weather, he looked around for other clues. A few SeeD ships were stationed at the docks – probably for an upcoming mission... the Train Station was also silent. He could see some kind of smoke coming from the station though. Pointing it out to Zell, the two went to investigate.

"How the..?"

There was a stationed train in the station – coated with an inch of ice. The door was shut, and the smoke was a rolling mist coming from the ice, out to the town where it would vanish. The two looked at each other, unable to come up with anything rational to the events. They continued to scout town, but found most of the usual gathering places deserted. The Inn's doors, however were locked, when they were heading down to the docks – to which Zell immediately tried to barge through, but to no success – he could hear the cracking of something on the other side... noticing recent trends, he assumed it was a thick coat of ice.

"At least we know Julia's not here..." Ryan muttered, attempting to find an up-side to the situation.

Zell punched the ground, irritated all to hell. "Something's causing this. Let's finish looking around, and head to the docks."

Ryan nodded, and followed closely behind his instructor. As they rounded the inn to the docks, they saw the mass scale of ice that had accumulated in the harbor. It wasn't long before the two spotted the cause – of an entire city to be void of life, there was a solitary, hovering figure over one of the largest icebergs out at sea. Zell saw this and swore – convenience never came easy to a SeeD, even to this day.

"That's not what I think it is, is it?" Ryan stammered, seeing the uniqueness of the creature and unable to identify it.

Zell nodded, "That's a GF alright... how the hell did one wind up here?"

An unsettling pause later, the martial artist began stretching, a dangerous smile etching itself across his lips, "Well, I guess we have no choice. If no one else is around... it's not like anyone would miss it if we take it, right?"

Ryan blinked at his instructor's sudden enthusiasm, "My staff was in need of repairs – I don't have it on me."

Zell nodded and pointed to a selection of fishing supplies off toward the harbor store to the left of the docks – among the recently abandoned supplies was a sturdy, double-edged harpoon, used to ward off sea creatures and hunt larger game. His instructor had it figured that there wouldn't be any larger game than this.

The spear was made of steel and iron, with a comfortable leather grip at the center. Despite the temperature, it felt really comfortable to handle – wait... despite the temperature... A second's thought translated into watching steam appear as he continued to breathe. The temperature had dropped thirty degrees easy without them noticing, just by heading to the docks?

"I have a feeling things'll be much colder once we head out there.. you have anything to protect against ice?" Ryan thought, his strategic mind now in full gear. Zell closed his eyes a moment, and re-junctioned some magic around – now able to absorb ice-elemental attacks directly. He looked and nodded.

"Remember Ryan – for your sake, I'm going in strictly as support – you've done well in the past with advising yourself, you just tell me what to punch..." he landed a fist into his open palm and smiled, "then I'll do my part."

* * *

"_Hello? C'mon, people, answer me, will ya?_"

"Headmaster?" a second voice spoke out, coming from the elevator to the second floor. An old gentleman walked into the room, carrying a large, sturdy fishing pole at his side. _I suppose she must be running late... She promised me a moment of her time._

"_PLEASE! Someone answer?"_

"Eh?" The old man scratched his back and strode the the headmaster's desk, inspecting the calling-device for a moment. He saw a flashing red button, signaling an incoming call and waited expectantly, looking toward the 3F Elevator. "Aaaah, I'll tell her when she gets here... Sounds urgent."He pushed the button, and heard a loud click. He looked around for something to speak into, and pulled up a small intercom-looking device, "Hello?"

"_Wha..? Quistis? When did you sound like an old geezer?"_

Oh really, now? "If you prefer to wait a while longer, I can just hang up, you know..."

"_Oh! Please, no! I'm sorry about that. Anyway - This is Laguna! Laguna Loire, from Esthar?"_

The old man scratched his chin, itching through a stubby white beard, "Yea-huh? And what's your request? Headmaster Quistis ain't here, so I'mma haveta try to remember this myself, you know – keep it short."

"_Just tell her to come to the Estharian dig site, quick - we found something... something big!"_


End file.
